Govt. does well on health front, weak on economy: BT poll
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While the government was commended for its handling of the health crisis vis-à-vis COVID-19, it has performed poorly in terms of handling the distribution of essential food and the economic impact, an email poll conducted by the Business Times (BT) this week showed.
Asked whether the Government has handled the health crisis well, 77 per cent of the respondents replied with Y (Yes) while nearly 50 per cent (49.5 per cent) responded with N (No), to the question as to whether the government had well organised the distribution of essential food and services.
To the question whether the Government handled the impact on the economy and business well, majority of the respondents (55 per cent) said N (No).
However an overwhelming majority (64 per cent) were in agreement that the curfew in the high-risk Colombo district should continue throughout April, due to the COVID-19 threat. Respondents to the poll included a cross section of Sri Lanka’s intellectual and middle classes.
There were many comments. One respondent said that preceding this crisis the country was on a poor footing with the government compounding the situation with ill-conceived tax cuts. “We are now in a very vulnerable situation since we have no buffers to help us get out of this mess, our only hope is to go to the IMF and get relief fast,” he said. Another said the government was handling the health crisis as best as it can do, adding: “The people must be healthy and alive for the economy to get back on track”.
A doctor, who responded to the poll, said that pharmacies and retail shops should have been opened for three hours each day for 3-4 days of the week, adding that many vendors (though not all), who come down the lanes to sell essential goods are robbing people with high prices.
A business professional criticised the government approach. “Because we lack adequate testing and treatment facilities, the approach has been to lock everything and everyone down and sit out the virus, with no real understanding of the collateral damage, especially to the economy,” he said.
On the distribution of essential food and services, it was the informal sector and micro businesses that have kept the masses supplied, often running the risk of arrest due to violating the curfew to do so, he said.
On the handling of the economy, he said that the government approach was blind to the realities confronting the business sector that a suspicion arose as to whether it is using the crisis to pave the way for a return to a closed economy where the state manages all business.